Lemonade Day Detroit's young entrepreneurs make big money, bigger donations

An industrious youngster who with her siblings partnered with a local grocery store and another young entrepreneur who donated all her profits to a local dog rescue organization were among the “lemonaders” celebrated at the third Lemonade Day Detroit Awards Ceremony July 30 at Huntington Bank.

“Lemonade Day Detroit participants really ‘outsold’ themselves,” said Mike Fezzey, president of Huntington's East Michigan Region and third-year presenting sponsor. “These proprietors increased the average revenue per stand by 84 percent over our 2012 results.” In addition,

Nearly 2,000 children registered to participate in Lemonade Day Detroit 2013.

Revenue per stand increased from $191 in 2012 to $351 in 2013.

Charitable giving per stand also increased, by more than 100 percent (from $51 per stand in 2012 to $107 in 2013).

Lemonade Day Detroit was also pleased to have 52,000 students from DPS who took on Lemonade Day as a cross-curricular study throughout the school year. The 14 lessons of Lemonade Day span all areas of study, including math, science, art, social studies and marketing – and teaches them how to use their education to meet a most basic life skill: how to earn a living.

Lemonade Day Detroit is part of a national effort to teach children how to start, own and operate a business through the simple act of running a lemonade stand. The goal is to help the youth of Metro Detroit learn valuable skills and the positives of business, to help them become the next generation of leaders.

Huntington Bank handed out a number of prizes July 30 in recognizing inspired entrepreneurs ages 4 to 17 who manned stands from throughout Southeast Michigan:

Most Successful Stands

These three lemonade stands were the top money makers, based on the results submissions, tabulated by Lemonade Day’s national office:

First Place - $150 in Visa gift cards

o Alexis, Jada and Sasha Roberts

o From Northville

o They earned $1,263

o They donated a portion of their profits to Boys Hope Girls Hope of Detroit

Second Place - $100 in Visa gift cards

o THE JUICE KIDS, Idaisha Capulong; Zaria Smiley and Joseph Marshall

o From Detroit

o They made a $1,028 profit.

o … and donated a portion of their profits to Wigs 4 Kids

3rd Place - $75 in Visa gift cards

o Lemonade Day Detroit’s Kid Ambassador Joshua Smith

o From Detroit

o Made a profit of $615

o … and donated a portion of his profits to The Detroit Mower Gang

Best Stand

Lemonaders posted pictures of their stands on the Lemonade Day Detroit Facebook page for the Best Stand contest. The public voted for their favorites by liking the photos, and the winners are:

First Place - $150 in Visa gift cards

o Lacey Jade McKee and Jazmin and Jakob Blanks

o From Clawson

o 360 votes

· Second Place - $100 in Visa gift cards

o Bruce Bowers and Alicia Smith

o From Detroit

o 318 votes

· Third Place - $75 in Visa gift cards

o Carson and Owen Powell

o From Clinton Township

o 243 votes

The grand finale was the announcement of the winner of a trip to Disney World for four. To be eligible, Lemonade Day Detroit participants had to submit the results form online or via regular mail. The winner, via a random drawing, is Zaire Harps of Detroit.

“We salute all the children of Metro Detroit who went to work June 8 as part of Lemonade Day Detroit,” Fezzey said. “As we reflect on their amazing generosity, we’re inspired for the future of Metro Detroit. We look forward to seeing all these dynamic youngsters next year.”

Lemonade Day Detroit salutes its sponsors and for their efforts in making Lemonade Day Detroit 2012 a success:

Huntington Bank

Art Van Furniture

Charity Motors

Comcast

Coin Laundry

Ilitch Holdings

JR Turnbull Communications

Meijer

PWC

Quicken Loans

The Yaffe Group

Nineteen Strategic Partners assisted Lemonade Day Detroit by introducing the concept to their children via their members, participants and communities in 2013.

Lemonade Day is a part of Prepared 4 Life, a nonprofit that provides fun, proactive and experiential programs infused with life skills, character education and entrepreneurship. Lemonade Day was born in Houston in 2007, and was inspired by the lessons local entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Holthouse taught his young daughter and her friend when they set up a lemonade stand. Since then it has grown to a nationwide program, and this year Lemonade Day is in 31 cities.

Copyright 2013 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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